Jade Falcon Elite

Sunday, December 04, 2005

Appreciation & My Genting Trip

29th Nov to the 1st Dec 2005 I went up to Genting Highlands in Malaysia with my friends and colleagues, Cheryl, Dennis, Kristina and Glen. Drove in 2 cars, namely my Subaru Impreza and Cheryl’s IST.

Drove off at 6am from Singapore and arrived at 11am. It was freezing cold up there when we arrived at Genting Hotel. Got ourselves a nice room, arranged our stuffs a little and off we went, hunting for things to do.

There are many photos which I took so you guys can take your time and have a look at the cloudy entertainment landmark. I like cold places. Singapore is too hot. Hot hunks, hot babes and also hot weather… Too hot la.

Sometimes in life we take for granted the simplest things. Sometimes we live to regret it. I am sure many of us have made the foolish mistake of forgetting to thank someone who has done us a kind deed or someone who has always remembered us.

When I was young, I was brought up the Christian way. They taught me how to appreciate life itself and the people around me. These I have held dear. Learning to appreciate someone didn’t come by all that natural. When have you last heard a kid saying thank you to an adult for the sweets given to him without prompting from his parents or guardians? Showing appreciation does not come naturally.

One rule of my life. Forget the transgressions which people have done so against me, remember the goodness they have shown forth to me. Then again, I am only human and I do make my fair share of mistakes.

I like telling people thank you. I like my loved ones to know I care and I mean it. I have no qualms about saying sorry when I am wrong or admitting to mistakes made. From real life friends to blogging friends, I believe I have shown in my own special ways my appreciation. The Tribute in one of my post is one such Appreciation token.

Many people use different methods to show their appreciation. Let me name a few.

1. Time: Spending time with someone is probably the most costly and under-rated form of appreciation. Time is money. Time and tide wait for no man. Time is not refundable. Time is commitment. To choose to give time, is to choose to give much of oneself. If someone is to busy to give you that time, then you are not important enough for him to give you that time. Time is so important because one day, we will all run out of time. The importance of Time cannot be emphasize more.

2. Effort: Effort is a beautiful thing. It is a sole requirement for me to be touched by any gal. If a lady decides to sit there and look pretty, then I am sorry, she isn’t for me. I need the lady to show me that she is interested and by her eager consistent actions, I will naturally be touched. Likewise, most people have this saying,” it’s the thought that counts”. Bull shit. Thinking about the person isn’t the same as doing something for that person. I would prefer to send an sms, talk, hang out, give or do something for the person whom I want to appreciate. Thinking alone isn’t good enough. Its simply lazy appreciation. Effort requires a sacrifice of time, energy, actions and intentional deliberate purpose. Example: Broken Promise Valerie baked a cake for her boyfriend on his birthday. However she thinks it looks weird, its still marvelous effort on her part. Her boyfriend should feel lucky. That’s effort.

3. Money: Money is not an end itself. It is a means to an end. Simply put, it’s a tool, which we can use to achieve certain objectives. For this occasion, we need money to buy gifts, dinner, support certain causes and even plan surprises. Giving even 1 cent to a person whom we appreciate makes us that 1-cent poorer. No one should ever say that any gift or token that cost money is too little and means nothing to the giver. Most of us earn limited amounts of money and I am sure most of you agree that money is really hard to come by. We have to spend as little as possible, save enough and try and increase our income to be able to set aside enough to even utilize some of our funds to show our appreciation to someone we care. So do feel blessed when someone does actually use his or her money to shower you with appreciation.

4. Behaviour and Conduct: No point spending time, money and effort on someone then you behave like an idiot when you are with the person. Imagine you use money to buy a gift which took time to source and you actually did spend time with the person whom you appreciate and then behave like a childish petty idiot when the person doesn’t reciprocate your goodness. Be gentlemanly, guys. Be ladylike, girls. Good conduct of oneself like opening the doors for your mum, girlfriend or someone you like is also a good way to show your filial piety, love and appreciation for that person. Another way to understand this pointer is, imagine your friend takes you out to buy you dinner which cost money and time but never offers to carry your heavy things which you are carrying with you. Maybe he’s oblivious to your sufferings but that’s what I call, horrid behaviour.

5. Tone and Speech: If you appreciate someone, believe me, your tone and speech will change. There is no one who will shout across the room in an angry voice telling another person that he or she is appreciated. That kind of guy is kuku. Show your appreciation by speaking sincerely and with utmost pitiful eyes, the person will surely melt and receive your appreciation with heartfelt thanks.

There are probably more pointers to this topic Appreciation; this list is definitely not exhaustive. The reason I wanted to highlight this in my latest post is because I do think it’s important to show appreciation to people whom we care and touch us. Very often we neglect those who has helped us in our times of need and forgotten them.

The world will be a better place if we are not short on our show of appreciation. Showing appreciation will not lessen our sincerity but rather, it would augment our characters as someone who knows how to show gratitude when it matters.

Appreciation, I have learnt this lesson well. May it serve you well too.

*When was the last time you really showed your appreciation to someone who has helped you or made a difference in your life?

"Gratitude takes 3 forms; a feeling in the heart, an expression in words , and giving in return"